Volume 5 — Queries.

DUTCH MANUFACTORIES OF PORCELAIN.

What manufactories of porcelain were established in Holland?

When, by whom, and at what places were they established, and when did they cease to exist?

What marks were used to indicate the different manufactories, and had the manufactures any distinctive character?

The mark M. O. L. is frequently found on Dutch porcelain, and occasionally the word Amstel; what is the meaning of these marks, and when were they employed?

A stork is also found as a mark on Dutch porcelain, which is said to have been made at the Hague. Is this correct? and if so, what is the history of the manufactory?

Was any porcelain made at Arnheim? and if so, what was the distinguishing mark?

O. M.

[We beg to recommend these Queries to the especial attention of our Dutch contemporary DE NAVORSCHER; and we have little doubt that some of the learned contributors to that Journal will be able to throw light upon what is at present a very obscure portion in any history of manufactures which we possess in this country.—ED.]

SALMON FISHERIES.

Grievous complaints are now making of the scarcity of salmon, and consequently of the depressed state of the salmon fisheries, both in Scotland and Ireland. As the statistics of the produce of the principal rivers of those countries for some years past are known, it would be curious to contrast their returns in the present century with any accounts which may exist of their produce in former times.

For example, the Earl of Strafford wrote, in 1638, that the fishery at Derry produced to the crown that year 240 tons of salmon, which sold at 15l. per ton. In 1845 the seven years average of the Foyle (Derry) was 140 tons, and the price ranged at about 100l. per ton. Pennant states that as much as 320 tons were taken in the Bann in 1760; and Stanihurst, writing about the year 1584, declares that the fishermen of Lough Neagh, and of the "noble northerne river, the Banne, complain more often for bursting of their nets with the over great take of fish, than for anie want," so that the Irish grievance of that day lay in the very glut of the commodity.

The famous "salmon-leap" at Ballyshannon, on the Erne, was formerly very productive. It belonged to the O'Donels, Lords of Tyrconnel. Sir George Carew, in a MS. pedigree of that family, observes that

"O'Donell is the best lorde of fishe in Ireland, and exchangeth fishe allwayes with foreign merchants for wyne, by which his call in other countryes the kinge of fishe."

In Roman Catholic times our national salmon fisheries were of much value, for they supplied an article of food which was necessary for fast days; there are, accordingly, many ancient acts of parliament in the statute books for the preservation of the salmon, and still more in the Scotch statutes, in one of which, indeed, a jubilee was ordained for the benefit of the finny tribe, by making it penal to take any salmon for the space of three years. Not only did private and religious houses rely upon a supply of salted fish for fast days, and for the winter's consumption, but armies at that time could not be marched or subsisted without them. There is in Rymer an order of Edward II. to provide 3000 dried salmon for this very purpose.

All our mouths water at hearing of "kippered salmon," especially at breakfast-time; but it seems from old Izaak Walton's use of the word that the origin of the delicacy is not the very best, for he uses the word as expressive of a "sprat," or spawned cock-salmon, out of season, and it is verily to be believed that the dainty is produced by preserving the fish when in a state that it could not be eaten if fresh.

Travellers in the colder latitudes of the new and old world, agree in representing the rivers of those countries as literally swarming with noble salmon. The increase of man, and the advances of civilisation, have led to the decrease of salmon in the British Islands, and this fish will probably, in a century or so more, rank among other exterminated animals, as the bustard, &c.

Any of your readers would oblige me by reference to authorities in which statements may be found as to the ancient productiveness of the salmon fisheries of Great Britain and Ireland; in fact, to any information or curious details on the subject.

H. T. H.

Wexford.

THOMAS CRAWFURD.

Can any of your readers inform me when Mr. Thomas Crawfurd was the Professor of Philosophy in the University of Edinburgh? In a Scotch Peerage, by Mr. George Crawfurd, published in 1716, there is a Latin epigram by him on the armorial bearings of the Crawfurds of Kilbirny in Ayrshire, one of whom was created Viscount Garnock by Queen Anne, in the second year of her reign. The description of the armorial bearings is as follows in the same peerage, under the head Crawfurd, Viscount of Garnock—

"Quarterly 1st and 4th gules, a fess ermine. 2nd and 3rd azure, a Cheveron betwixt three Cross Patées Or, supported by two Grayhounds. Crest, an ermine Argent. Motto, 'Sine labe nota.'"

The author then adds,—

"A learned gentleman of this name[2] paraphrased this coat of arms in these fine elegiacs—

I subjoin the following translation:

C. S. T. P.

Oxford.

Minor Queries.

The Chronologic Institute.

—Should not this society, as a preliminary, protest against the architectural anachronisms of these days—the building churches, for instance, in every, any, or no style of architecture? In one parish the priest erects an Early English church, copied from the Oxford Glossary; in the next, something very like a conventicle, with no chancel and no chimes, is built by subscription; in another, the architect is a disciple of Ruskin, and tries the Byzantine style, with a tower like St. Mark's of Venice;—a nice Gordian knot for coming chronologists!

MORTIMER COLLINS.

Mother Carey's Chickens.

—In Hawkesworth's Voyages there occurs the following passage: "The petrels, to which sailors have given the name of Mother Carey's chickens." Who was "Mother Carey;" why was her name given to the petrel; and why have sailors so great an objection to their being killed?

W. B. M.

Dee Side.

Suwich Priory.

—What is known of the Priory of Suwich in Hampshire, of which a handsome seal records the former prosperity?

E. A. S.

Anthony Babington.

—Can any of your correspondents inform me whether William Kempe's Dutiful Invective against the moste Haynous Treasons of Ballard and Babington, &c. &c., has been reprinted in any collection of rare tracts, or otherwise? and also whether his Censure of a loyall Subiect upon certaine noted Speeches and Behaviour of those 14 notable Traitors (Ballard, Babington, &c.), has also been reprinted?

I should also be glad of references to any other tracts or ballads referring to Babington and his conspiracy.

L. J.

Sir Isaac Newton, Cicero, and Gravitation.

—How is it that Sir Isaac Newton has obtained so world-wide a renown for his discovery of the law of gravitation, when the following passage in the Tusculan Disputations proves it to have been well known to Cicero?

"Qua omnia delata gravitate medium mundi locum semper expetant."

See lib. v. cap. 24.

S. E. B.

Trinity College, Oxford.

Diotrophes.

—Can any of your readers say, on what authority the Abbé Masscot calls Diotrophes, mentioned in 3 St. John, ver. 9., Bishop of Corinth. The Abbé has left the Roman Church, and joined the branch of Mr. Henry Drummond's Church in France, and is the editor of Le Recueil Catholique, to advocate the cause of the new church. The passage to which I refer is in the October Number, p. 208., and is given as a proof of his theory: "L'Apostolat supplanté, absorbé par l'Episcopat;" this first order of ministry in the Christian Church having been in abeyance, till it was revived in the person of Mr. Drummond and the other eleven apostles of that Church! In Mant and D'Oyley's Bible it is said that Diotrophes is unknown; and Grotius and Doddridge entertain different opinions about him, but neither speak of him as being a bishop.

ER.

Grisly.

—Can any of your readers inform me why a person in a fretful state is said to be grisly? the far-famed Guzzle being a pattern of meekness and patience. I am aware that Johnson gives the meaning—fearfully, horribly; but this does not seem satisfactory. Infants are often said by their nurses to be "very grisly."

RUBY.

Birthplace of St. Patrick.

—Can the disputed question of the birthplace of St. Patrick be settled? Some writers assign Scotland, others England, and others France, as his fatherland. He himself informs us (Confess. sub init.) that he was born at Bonavem-Taberniæ. This locality has been supposed by some writers to be Kilpatrick, on the mouth of the Clyde, and by others Boulogne-sur-Mer.

CEYREP.

Motto on Chimney-piece.

—There is a carved oak chimney-piece in my possession, of the time of James I., from a mansion at Newcastle-upon-Tyne occupied as the Turk's Head Inn, and taken down about fifteen years ago. In the central compartment is a shield, but the crest is wanting. The quarterings are three stags' heads, and checky; and as the motto has puzzled wiser heads than mine, I beg leave to produce it. One or two of the letters are doubtful, but there is no omission:

"VITATRANOVULAESTOLIM."

I should feel much obliged to any one for deciphering the motto, and still more for discovering the original possessor of this interesting piece of antiquity.

Another motto, under a coat of arms on some old china, cannot meet with an interpreter:

"VE DAL AM DARO."

C. T.

Curious Bequest.

—In the parish of Eardisland in Herefordshire, I am informed that some charitable person, whose name I could not ascertain, left to certain poor persons, parishioners, the following singular bequest, viz., to each poor person—

This was to be distributed on Maunday Thursday. Can any of your correspondents throw light upon this, or mention similar instances of such singular bequests?

H. C. K.

Wilkie's Blind Fiddler.

—I should be much obliged if you, or any of your correspondents, could give me some information respecting Sir David Wilkie's picture of "The Blind Fiddler." I believe he painted as many as four, if not more, copies of the original, and that the first picture was finished by him in the year 1807; that in the National Gallery is dated, as I am informed, 1808. What I wish to ascertain is, the real number of the pictures of this subject that Wilkie painted, with their dates; and if possible, in whose hands they are at present.

H. C. K.

—— Rectory, Hereford.

Lode.

—It seems to be a provincial word, according to Forby, and means "an artificial water-course," from A.-S. lodian, haurire; he also adduces the instance I have named, and also a water-course in Fincham, called in old writings "the Lode ditch." It would be interesting to know if it is used elsewhere than in Norfolk, and it may be Suffolk; but, at all events, I should much like to come at the real meaning.

J. N. C.

Ballad quoted by Sir Walter Scott.

—Effie Deans, in the Heart of Mid-Lothian, sings this stanza of a ballad:

There is a traditional ballad, very similar, of which the following is the only stanza preserved:

Sir Walter Scott delighted in preserving scraps of old ballads; and perhaps the two fragments above quoted may be part and parcel of the same original. Some friend in the "north countrie" may perhaps settle this point.

EDWARD F. RIMBAULT.

Ann Stewart, Wife of Christopher Hall.

—Can any of your readers inform me, by referring to an old work called Stewart's History of the Stewarts, page 156., whether Ann Stewart therein mentioned, who married Christopher Hall, was a descendant of the daughter of Henry VII.?

JOHN OF GAUNT.

Moveable Organs and Pulpits.

—In looking over a small pamphlet, entitled The Temple Church, an Account of its Restoration and Repairs, by William Burge, Esq. (8vo. 1843, Pickering), I met with the following passage, which serves me for a peg on which to hang a Query:

"Mr Etty justly observes that 'in St. Peter's at the present day, the organ is a very small one comparatively to the building, and is wheeled about, like the ancient pulpits, to different parts of the church!'"—P. 34.

Are movable organs common in Italy or elsewhere? With regard to pulpits, the chapel of King's College, Cambridge, has two at the present time, placed in one of the small chapels on the north side. They are moved into the choir when required. Besides these, the neighbouring church at Grantchester has a large pulpit, which, tradition says, also once belonged to the same noble edifice. Can any of your correspondents mention other examples of churches or chapels so well supplied?

W. SPARROW SIMPSON, B.A.

Nobleman alluded to by Bishop Berkeley.

—Bishop Berkeley, in his Minute Philosopher (Dialogue II. vol. i.), makes mention of "an English nobleman who in the prime of life professeth a liberal art, and is the first man of his profession in the world." Who was this nobleman?

J. M.

Chelwoldesbury.

—I shall be glad to have the opinion of your readers on the derivation of the name of a village, which in early records is spelt "Chalwoldesbury," "Chelwardesbury," "Chilwardesbury," "Chedwoldesby," &c. It is partly on the site of a British or Danish encampment, in a good state of preservation. The soil is chalky, and the country for some short distance round may have been open, but more probably the woods closely surrounded the camp. These particulars may assist in arriving at the derivation of the name, now corrupted into Cholesbury.

W. H. K.

Swallows' Nests.—

May I ask for information respecting the allusion contained in these lines?

W. S. T.

Quotation from Arthur Hopton.

—Arthur Hopton (Baculum Geodæticum, 1610, preface) says:

"If this hold, it is time to ... take the globe out of the king Ptolomies hand, and there place a poore Siquis, such as forlorne forreiners use to have in Paul's Church."

What does this mean?

M.

Group at Prague.

—I have in my possession a print representing Mercury in a flying attitude, bearing a female figure in his arms: the latter figure carries a cyathus in her right hand.

The inscription at the bottom of the print is—

"IVSSV RVDOLPHI · II · CÆSARIS AVGVSTI,

ADRIANVS DE VRIES HAGIENSIS FACIEBAT. PRAGUÆ.

OPVS ALTITVDINIS PEDVM OCTO EX ÆRE. 1.5.9.3."

I apply to "N. & Q." in hopes that this "Q." may meet the eye of some erudite correspondent, and draw forth a satisfactory "N."

Was Prague ever decorated with such a group? If the group in question be not a myth, what is the meaning of it? Who is meant by the first line of the inscription?

TECEDE.

Cards prohibited to Apprentices.

—When was the prohibition to play at cards or dice first introduced into apprentices' indentures? It occurs in the form of an indenture for an apprentice in A Book of Presidents, printed about 1566, and compiled by Thomas Phaer, who describes himself as "Solicitour to the King and Queenes Majesties."

EDWARD F. RIMBAULT.

Cursitor Barons.

—Can any of your correspondents guide me to a list of the Cursitor Barons, or refer me to any account of their origin and history? I find no such officer named up to the reign of Henry VIII., beyond which I have not yet inquired; nor does any notice occur of them in Madox's History of the Exchequer.

EDWARD FOSS.

Phelps's Gloucestershire Collections.

—The late John Delafield Phelps, Esq., who died in December, 1842, was well known among the literati as an ardent bibliophile, and a great investigator and accumulator of antiquities. He was one of the original members of the Roxburghe Club, established nearly forty years ago, and had devoted a long life to his favourite pursuits. Having been a native of Gloucestershire, he felt a particular interest in everything which regarded that county, and had in his lifetime collected a great mass of materials for the elucidation of its history, antiquities, &c., in every respect. It is understood that an ample catalogue (raisonné perhaps) was printed under his direction for circulation among his particular friends, giving great evidence of his assiduity and talents, and of the value of the collection. Participating to a great extent the interest which actuated Mr. Phelps to ascertain a local knowledge of Gloucestershire, I should feel obliged if any reader of the "N. & Q." could inform me what has become of Mr. Phelps's collection; if it remains entire, and if it be accessible by any recommendation to the present possessor?

Δ. (2).

Huant Le Puisné.

—I have in my possession a small gold bonbonnière exquisitely enamelled with portraits and landscapes, and bearing the following inscription:

"Huant Le puisné pinxit à Berlin."

Can any of your readers refer me to a work where I shall find any account of this painter?

A. O. O. D.

Arms of Roberson.

—What is the meaning of a man, chained hand and foot, placed horizontally beneath the arms of Roberson?

R. S. B.

Minor Queries Answered.

Winterton.

—Information is requested of John [Ralph] Winterton, Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, who translated, revised, and published Gerard's Meditations and Prayers, Cambridge, 1674, dedicated to John (Dolben), Lord Bishop of Rochester: the second part is called on the title-page the tenth edition. This book measures only four by two inches, and one inch in thickness, and contains 560 pages.

E. D.

[Ralph Winterton, in 1632, translated the Considerations of Drexelius upon Eternity, in the Preface to which he says, "I left the temple of Hippocrates and the Muses, and betook myself into the sanctuary, to which consisteth in the due numbering of the days of this short life, by comparing them with the years of eternity; and so I fell upon translating this book of eternity. And this I found, by daily experience, to be the best hypnoticon that ever I used; for it brought me to my rest better than if had taken diacodion." In 1634 he was nominated Professor of Physic in the University of Cambridge; and in 1635 published an edition of the minor Greek poets. The first edition of his translation of Gerard's Meditations and Prayers was published in 1631, and in 1640 he translated Gerard's Summe of Christian Doctrine, 8vo. There is a Latin distich by Winterton among the Additional MSS. in the British Museum, No. 5955.]

Emblems of a Saint.

—At the sale of the late Mr. Cottingham's Museum of medieval art was sold on the seventh day "a corbel with a figure of a saint with a basket of birds in one hand, in the other a staff." Will you allow me to inquire, through your valuable columns, the name of this saint?

BURIENSIS.

[Joachim, the Father of Mary, is sometimes represented as holding in his hand a basket with two turtle doves in it.—See Die Attribute der Heiligen, &c., Hanover, 1843.]

Quack.

—Why are certain members of the medical profession so called? I have seen "in print" that the Egyptian hieroglyphic for a doctor was a duck. Does this afford a clue?

A. A. D.

[Our English Quack, or Quacksalver as it was originally written, is from the German Quacksalber, or rather the Dutch Kwaksalver; which Bilderdijk, in his Geslachtlijst der Naamwoorden, states should be more properly Kwabzalver (Iatroliptes), from Kwab, a wen, and zalver, to salve or anoint.]

Dr. Hieron Mercurialis.

—Who was Dr. Hieron Mercurialis, the author of a book having the following title: Medicina Practica, seu de cognoscendis, discernendis, et curandis, omnibus humani corporis affectibus, earumque causis indagandis?

W. S.

[Hieron Mercurialis, an eminent and learned physician, was born at Forli, in Romagna, in 1530. During a sojourn of seven years at Rome, he paid great attention to classical literature and the monuments of antiquity, and composed the learned and elegant work which first rendered him celebrated in the literary world, De Arte Gymnastica Libr. sex, printed in 1567. After filling the Professor's chair at Padua for eighteen years, he removed, in 1587, to Bologna, and subsequently to Pisa. He died in his native place in 1606. See Rose's Biographical Dict.]

The Book of Sports.

—This celebrated royal indulgence of Sabbath-breaking was first issued in 1617, and again in 1633. On its first promulgation, Archbishop Abbott forbad the reading of it in the parish church of Croydon; but in 1637 many clergymen were deprived of their livings for not complying with the royal ordinance. In that year, at least, Lawrence Snelling, Rector of Paul's Cray, was for that offence excommunicated and then deprived.

In 1643 it was ordered by the Lords and Commons that this book should be burnt by the common hangman in Cheapside and other usual places. The Sheriffs of London and Middlesex were required "to assist effectually" in the execution of the order; and all persons were required forthwith to deliver up all copies to the sheriff. The 10th of May was the day fixed for putting this order into execution. Was it complied with generally? I cannot find that any penalty was attached to disobedience. Is the book now scarce? I presume it is accessible in public libraries.

S. S. S.

[The earlier editions of The Book of Sports are now scarce, but may be seen in most public libraries. It was reprinted in 1709, with the following title: The Book of Sports, set forth by James I. and Charles I., with remarks upon the same in vindication of Charles I. 4to. It was also reprinted in the Harleian Miscellany, and in The Phœnix, vol. i.]